African Scat

[imagirlgeek]

Category:

Oddballs

Common Name:

African Scat

Scientific Name:

Scatophagus tetracanthus

Description:

The African Scat is a beautiful Scatophagus, with a yellow base body color and 7 black vertical bars. It is rare to see this scat in the hobby, which I find confusing since it is also the only scat to thrive in freshwater as an adult.

There is also a red scat (scatophagus argus arromaculatus), a silver scat (scatophagus multifasciatus), and a spotted scat (Scatophagus argus argus), but Scatophagus tetracanthus (African Scat) is the largest of the Scatophagus, topping out at around 16".

The African Scat is considered venomous due to the poisonous spines on the dorsal fin. So be careful if you need to handle them.

I've read that they are a shoaling fish, but I've also read many accounts of a dominant Scat killing all the other scats in a tank over night, with no warning. We keep our 3 in separate tanks for safety. They all display distinctly different personalities and I believe it is due to their rank in each tank.

Origin:

Indo-West Pacific: Somalia and Kenya to South Africa, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Also found in the rivers and lagoons of East Africa.

Max Size:

16 inches

Minimum Tank Size:

75 gallons

Swim Area:

All Areas

Life Span:

Reported up to 20 years in captivity

Temperature Range (F):

68F - 82F

pH:

7.0 - 8.5

Hardness (dH):

12-30 dH

Diet:

Omnivore

Additional Diet Information:

Mealtime is a scat's favorite part of the day. They are almost manic, darting around the tank to see what you are going to drop in. And African scats will eat anything. A good diet will mix veggies with meaty foods. Mine go crazy over bloodworms and frozen krill.

Gender Difference:

Monomorphic

Breeding:

Unknown

No reports of African scats breeding in captivity.

Temperament/Social Behavior:

• Usually peaceful, but very aggressive during feeding
• Active
• Schooling fish/Usually found in groups in the wild
• Will eat smaller fish
• Territorial
• Can be aggressive to same species

Common Diseases:

African scats are suseptible to Ich and Velvet.

Availability:

Rarely Seen

Additional Information or Photos

[Mzungu]

We keep our 3 in separate tanks for safety. They all display distinctly different personalities and I believe it is due to their rank in each tank.

How interesting!

Great info, thanks!

[imagirlgeek]

It's crazy because the one who lives with Angels is obnoxious and rude...no manners at all. And the one who is in with our large SA Cichlids is more meek and less likely to bully any of the other fish. And the one who is in the 240g with the huge giraffe catfish and Datnoids is more playful and antagonistic. He always messes with the giraffe catfish (steals Hoover's cave when Hoover comes out to eat)...it REALLY ticks Hoover off.